Monster Clay Smoothing/casting Help

So this is my first sculpting undertaking. I chose to use Monster Clay because it was a pretty affordable and highly recommended material. It is super silky and smooth and was really easy to work with.



I wasn't really having any issues just smoothing and sculpting with my hands, but when I switched to tools to try and achieve a smooth finish like metal I couldn't quite get where I want it.
Here is what I have:



Smoothing wise I have been using a combo of a heat gun + tools and a paintbrush + isopropyl myristate. I just want to blend out all of the tool strokes and paint brush bristles, does anyone have any tips? Or should I just keep going with it?

I intend to mold this mask in silicon and then cast it in resin, so I suppose I could just sand and smooth the cast, but I would rather have a great master to work from.

When I go to cast this do I need to seal it? I know some people spray clear sulfur free spray paint on their casts before they mold them, but will that render the clay trash after molding?

Thanks for the help, I would also love to hear any tips for Monster Clay or just sculpting in general!

I'm assuming the monster clay is wax based? Don't use a heat gun it, it gets too soft. Try getting it cold first, I use a dust can turned upside down to almost freeze it. Then dip some med grit sand paper in alcohol and sand it down going to finger grits, out will get a paste developing over it. Take a paper towel dampened with alcohol and wipe it down. The alcohol will evaporate quickly. You can then buff it to a nice smooth shine with a dry paper towel.

The clay is a mix of oil and wax, and i did notice that the heat gun got it super melty, which would cause warps. I will give the air can a try, or set it in the freezer for a bit, that sounds like it could really work, because I noticed that I could smooth it better when it was cold, and it got really difficult once I had been working on it for a few hours.

Thanks for the tips.

Sanding oil based clay works really well. You'll get a bunch of little annoying balls of clay when you sand, but if you use that same trick with the air can, you can re-freeze them and brush them off.

If you're getting balls build up on the surface, apply baby powder before sanding, thatb way the clay won't stick to itself.

I tend to use a sponge with naptha (lighter fluid) and buff it with that although I use chavant clay. Haven't had a chance to use monster clay yet.

Cold clay is much easier to smooth. For something like a face mask, I'd use a nice sharp tool like this one to even the surface.
Mini Aluminium Strip Tool Large Triangle MAST5 from Bath Potters' Supplies

Kinga, I actually have been using that tool mostly. I will give the baby power a shot, and isopropyl myristate is the recommended solvent for Monster Clay, but maybe I will give naptha a shot too. I have heard a lot of people use it. The paintbrush method was leaving brush strokes, I will try a smooth sponge, that will probably yield better results.

Thank you!

You can use a can of compressed air (the kind used to clean key boards) to freeze sections of your sculpt. You can than use a stiff scrapping tool to flatten out areas - or sharpen details. Just hold the can upside down and blast the area you want to work on. You can finish off using a scotch bright pad in a circular motion and finish off with a sponge and mineral spirits.

Your mask sculpt looks really nice! Great work!! MM will indeed sell you isopropyl myristate as a Monster Clay solvent, but as I'm sure you've already found out, it is very messy and will leave the clay soft and mushy for a long time. I do love Monster Clay, but I very much prefer mineral spirits for smoothing. It's better, and much less expensive.

Keep posting your progress!

Marcus

No problem, I remember having the same issues on my first face mask. Hope the techniques work

Nat

Hey all,

Just wanted to say thanks for all the help. Your suggestions really worked well. With more time and patience I could see making a truly flawless sculpt. I was running out of time on my build so I spent a few hours smoothing with sand paper and my compressed air, then finished up with some isopropyl myristate on a sponge.

I got a really nice finish with only a few flaws, and a few tool strokes in the smaller areas my sand paper couldn't quite reach.

I molded this in rebound 25 with a plasti-paste shell.



And roto casted a few different times and got a really nice cast (as well as a few others I can play around with).



I buffed it with some fine sandpaper to really smooth out the surface and now all it needs is some paint.

I really enjoyed the process of making this mask and as my first time sculpting I am pretty happy with the results.

Again, thank you all for your support!

WD40 works well on monster clay

Looks fantastic.

These are some good tips, I look forward to trying them out.